


Mothers Know Best

by UrsaMajorStories



Category: Original Work
Genre: Classical References, Family Bonding, Feelings, Love, Love Confessions, Mother's Day, Motherhood, Old Age, Old Friends, Philosophy, Relationship Discussions, Self-Reflection, Written for a Class
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-04 08:09:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12164940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UrsaMajorStories/pseuds/UrsaMajorStories
Summary: One fine Mother's Day, the question of love is purposed. Four elderly ladies take on the challenge to explain the universal inquiry of what love truly means.





	Mothers Know Best

**Author's Note:**

> This is a piece that was written for a literature class. It's a modern rendition of Plato's Symposium, which discusses the nature of love. I have already turned this in and received a grade. Now, I'm just curious to see what other readers think.

“So, do you have a boyfriend?” 

The question that started it all.

It was a perfectly sundrenched Sunday afternoon in May, when the birds seem to sing to the happy people of the Earth and the flowers bloom in brighter shades of violet and peach. The main dining room was abuzz with cheerful laughter and polite small talk. It was the annual Mother’s Day Luncheon at the Almond Terrace Retirement Home. This event was the highlight of the year for most of the elderly women, for this was the time when the children who rarely made time for them because of their hectic schedules finally came to visit. 

One by one, the sons and daughters of these little ladies had escorted them into the elaborately decorated dining room and made themselves comfortable with the seating arrangements. Twenty tables of eight were scattered across the room. One held the name cards of four special ladies and their respective guests. They sat in silence for the first few minutes while their meal was being served, until Desirae had fired the question that no young millennial wanted to be asked. 

Desirae was a 71-year-old vixen who could out flirt any bold teenager. She missed her late husband terribly, but that never stopped her from having fun. Charming the pants off the single men of the home was one of her favorite pastimes. She had always loved the idea of boyfriends and the exciting world of dating, so she couldn’t help but pry into her granddaughter’s personal affairs. The said 16-year-old granddaughter, Jamie, sat close to her side, eyes aghast as she searched for the words to say. She had come in her mother’s place because she couldn’t get off work. It’s sometimes hard having a doctor in the family. Finally, Jamie rolled her eyes and groaned, “Grandma…”

“Don’t be like that, Jamie. You know you can tell old Grammy anything!” Desirae bubbled with laughter as she observed the flustered teen wiggling in her seat.  


Jamie shook her head, eyes pleading, “Now is not the time…” 

“I say now’s the perfect time! We aren’t getting any younger, you know. What if we all die tomorrow never knowing the answer?” Another voice chimed out, joining their conversation.

It was Felicity, a sweetheart with a passion for romance novels and chamomile tea who was at the ripe age of 79. There was a lovely innocence about her that made her instant friends with everyone around her. Her son, Bill, in his early thirties, was sitting across from her. Hiding a smile behind his fingertips, he said, “Mom, I know you have a passion for matchmaking, but maybe she’s a bit too young to be worrying about things like that?”

“Sadly, there’s no such thing as too young. Love is too infectious for a thing like age to stop it,” The next woman nodded her head in finality, completely agreeing with herself. Sage was a bit colder and aloof than the other two. The 83-year-old had more feelings for cats than she did people after years of heartbreak with deceitful men. She couldn’t take chances on getting attached to many people, but the three ladies sitting beside her had wormed their way into her heart. Anne, her 40-year-old daughter slouched with her arms crossed, looking at her mother with calculated poise, almost a mirror image, “Very touching, mom.”

The oldest of the quartet was Trinity. At 93, she was one of the oldest inhabitants of Almond Terrace. Her jaw was weak and she didn’t talk much, but her eyes sparkled with the unknown mysteries of her soul. She seemed to enjoy the discourse of love, but she kept her mouth shut. Her 57-year-old daughter, Brita, knew that the silence was not because she didn’t want to speak, but because she was saving her energy for when it was truly her turn.  


Jamie suddenly became irritated with the whole subject, “What could you possibly know about love?”

The whole table turned towards the young girl, and she shrunk back into her chair. Under the intense stares of the others, Jamie suddenly felt like a cornered animal. She cried in an indignant teenage tone, “You all think I don’t know anything about it!  


Desirae’s expression softened, “No, sweetheart. I’m sure that you know some things about love.”

“But, not everything,” Felicity smiled sympathetically, trying to choose her words carefully. Giving advice to a teenager was a risky business. If you say the wrong thing, they automatically think that you’re trying to belittle them.  


Jamie huffed, but seemed to settle down a bit, “What don’t I know?”

“Hm, there’s a lot to love. It won’t be easy to explain,” Sage warned.

“Oh, I know! How about we ladies each explain love to our children in our own way?” Desirae clapped her hands with excitement as she nearly shouted her proposal. 

Sage raised her eyebrows, interested in the idea, “That could be exciting. We could discuss this topic like they do on The View.”

“Or Plato’s Symposium!” Felicity squealed. Eyes suddenly turned to the old romantic in confusion. Felicity slumped in dejection when no one got the reference, “Sorry. I read…a lot.”

“Does anyone object to our little discussion of amour? If not, I’ll start.” Desirae giggled. 

The children and the granddaughter of the four looked at each other with sheepish side glances. None of them had the heart to deny them. Trinity gave them all a knowing smile.

Desirae took the silence as her cue to begin, “Wonderful! Now let me see. Well, Love is…love is um…harder to put into words than I thought. I never really tried to define it before. You know this reminds me of the time--” 

“You’re getting sidetracked,” Sage quipped.

Felicity shot her a reprimanding look and turned her attention back to Desirae, “Take your time.”

Desirae inhaled deeply as she searched for the right words. Everyone could see the wheels of her brain spinning, desperately trying to churn out a suitable answer to the question of love. Finally, her eyes lit up, “Love is nothing without physical attraction. There is truly nothing like being with a man. With strong arms to hold you when the nights are cold, and soft kisses to dry your tears. There is really no comparison. Being so close to someone on such an intimate and physical level is something that no other emotion can provide. Back in my day, I was what you might call a social butterfly. I think I became addicted to a man’s touch. I’d have a new boyfriend almost every weekend. It almost became a running joke between my friends and me. They’d say, ‘Who did the cat sink her claws into this time?’ or ‘Which poor guppy did you fish from the kiddie pool?’ All of my romantic interests during that time where for fun, to experiment. Little did I know that my days of carousing the dating scene were numbered. Things changed when I met your grandfather. Do you know how I knew I loved your grandfather, Jamie? It was back during our university days, when we collided in one of the many hallways. He dropped his books, and as I made to help him retrieve them, our hands touched. From that moment on I couldn’t get the butterflies out of my stomach! He was on my mind all the time! I realized that this was the first time I needed a man’s touch. I needed him close to me. I needed his affection. I just knew I had to get his attention after that. I’d drop my pencil in front of his desk and bend over to grab it, so that he could enjoy the view of my…assets. I’d wink and flip my hair whenever we talked. I would constantly ask him for help on the homework, to the point where I think he may have thought I was a ditz. But even if he did, there was no denying the chemistry between us. Your grandfather was a real looker too, even though he didn’t think he was. I think that was part of why I was so attracted to him. He was too handsome to ignore. My eyes were just drawn to him, and so was my body. Boy, did we make some really good whoopee—”

“Grandma!” Jamie screeched, mortified by the innuendo.

“I think I can take it from here,” Sage interjected as politely as she could. Desirae nodded and surrendered her moment in the spotlight. 

Sage began her speech with a nonchalant air of detachment, “Love is nothing more than a chemical reaction in the brain. In fact, all our thoughts and feelings are controlled by our own unique brain chemistry. The thing that Desirae was talking about, when you can’t stop thinking about someone, is actually caused by high levels of dopamine and norepinephrine and low levels of serotonin. Without serotonin to keep your thinking balanced, you become obsessive over the object of interest. In Desirae’s case, this was a man. There are also many symptoms of love, such as the feeling of butterflies in the stomach, rapid heartbeat, loss of appetite, loss of sleep, nervousness, and even physical trembling. Love has more in common with the flu than it does with feelings. In fact, love is like a drive that needs to be satisfied, like hunger or thirst. Emotions are fleeting, and this is certainly too strong of a feeling to be even considered an emotion. It is a drive that goes through a process of attraction, lust and reproduction, and some sort of attachment. This process stemmed from our ancestors need to have a partnership in order to rear children until they were dependent enough to live on their own. And, the most frustrating part of it all is that it is sudden, unexpected, and uncontrollable. I never wanted to be in love; it wasn’t one of my main goals in life. But, it happened, and while it did grant a beautiful daughter who I love dearly, it left me a mess when my husband and I divorced. I loved him until I was heartsore for nearly half of my life; however, the chemicals in his brain that bound him to me wore off long before mine did. Next thing I know, I find him in our bed with his secretary, the grandest of all the stupidest clichés in the book. Maybe I should’ve became a secretary. Maybe someone would’ve had an affair with me. That would’ve showed him. I really do believe our brains weren’t built to withstand a lifetime of love. We get bored when we are trapped in the cycle of comfortable living and dependable love. If we were hardwired to make long lasting relationships, maybe I would still be married.”

“Mother…why did you wait so long to tell me how you felt?” Anne reached across the table and took her mother by the hand. It was the first moment of compassion between the two in almost 30 years.

Sage squeezed her daughter’s hand, “I didn’t know if I could say it. Even now, I’m wondering how those words slipped.”

“If you’d like, I can say my bit now,” Felicity spoke timidly. She didn’t want to ruin the tender moment, but she also wanted her opinion to be heard.

“By all means, go for it,” Sage patted her shoulder in a slightly patronizing manner. She didn’t think that Felicity could top her rational argument.

Felicity beamed from ear to ear as she began to speak, “You’ve talked about physical attraction and brain chemistry, but there’s something important that you both left out. The emotional connection that you share with a sweetheart is the most beautiful and important aspect to love. I don’t care what you say, Sage, love is an emotion. Science may have some say as to why we feel the way we do, but it can never tell us how. Love is too complex to be a simple drive that tells us when we need to reproduce. There’s more to it than that. Why do we need common interests? Why do we do little things for each other? Why do we have the feeling that our significant other is the only one who truly understands us? These are things that science can explain, but when that is the case, it makes love out to be one dimensional. Love is spiritual. Love is emotional and abstract. Chemicals may help the process along, but there are more powerful forces at work. All the songs, books, movies, and poems about love should attest to this. They were not created because of the science behind love, but because of what people have felt in their hearts since the beginning of time. Your thoughts and feelings will help you know when love is in the air. When you feel like you are incomplete when they’re gone, or you can’t imagine life without them, that’s love. When you have the need to protect them, or keep them safe, that’s love. When you do care where you are as long as they’re with you, that’s love. You don’t have to love a certain gender for it to be love either. Science would tell us that we are evolutionarily hardwired for heterosexual love, so that we can have sex. This isn’t always the case though. A man can love another man, a woman can love a woman. Bill, I don’t think I’ve told you this, but I once fell in love…with a woman. Long before your father. This was in high school. She had a head full of cherry red hair and a smile that could outshine the stars. We dated for a while, under the table. It was almost a year later when we had to go our separate ways for college. It wasn’t acceptable in my time to love someone of the same gender, but I’m sure as hell glad that it is now. It’s funny; I don’t understand why people thought that loving someone of the same gender was evil or wrong. All I could understand was that I loved her. I felt the same way towards your father. Bill. The same kind of affection and passionate yearning. It had always confused me, how I had loved both genders within my lifetime. What do they call that? Being…oh what is it…bisexual? I think I know now that when you fall in love with a person, it doesn’t matter what form that person takes, whether it be a man, woman, or whatever else there is nowadays. It was hard for me to learn, but I believe in this truth. I hope you aren’t disappointed in me, Bill.”

“Disappointed? Mom, that was beautiful,” Bill sniveled, wiping a tear from his eye.  


Felicity’s face brightened, “You really think so?”

“Yes. In fact, I think there’s something I need to tell you,” He drew in a deep breath, “You know my girlfriend, Jo?”

“Of course!” Felicity grinned.

“Do you know why you haven’t met her yet?” 

“No…”

“Because the name is spelled Joe. With an e.”

“You mean…”

Bill braced himself, “I’m dating a man.”

They both paused, looking at each other in pure awe. Felicity broke the tension with infectious laughter, “Now you know why I love romance! Everything usually works for the best!”

“I feel silly hiding that from you all this time,” Bill joined her in her laughter.

“As you should! Did you think the news would kill me or something? I know I’m old, and I may have lost some of my brains, but I still have a heart,” She playfully chastised her son. A small coughing sound was heard. It was Trinity clearing her throat to speak. She looked to her daughter, waiting for her approval. Brita looked surprised, but she gently said, “Go ahead, mom.”

Trinity’s jaw popped as she opened it, but that didn’t stop her. A mischievous grin spread across her face as she crowed, “You’re all wrong.”  


Silence filled the air around the table.

“You have each talked about the physical, rational, and emotional parts of love. But, each of you have denied the fact that all three of these are parts of love. They are parts that make up the whole of love. You can’t have just one, or else it wouldn’t be love! With just physical, it would be lust. With just science, it’s a disease. With just emotions, it would be friendship. What makes love so special is that it combines all of these things to make a powerful force that is unique to anything else in the world. It’s so powerful that people have been compelled to write songs, books, and make movies about it. Love must be a combination of what everyone on the planet thinks about it, because there is not one true way to love someone. Essentially, all ways are correct, and they even overlap each other. Jamie, my advice to you is to make love what you want it to be. Love is obviously seen from different points of view. No matter how universal the feeling is, it is felt differently by a variety of people. Even the four of us have had different approaches when attempting to explain love to you. No one has come to an agreement on the true nature of love. It’ll probably be debated long after we’re gone, long into the future. Keep our opinions in the back of your mind, but you’ll soon find out that you have opinions of your own. Use them to find the right kind of love for you,” Trinity nodded with decisiveness. Her jaw would be sore in the morning, but she said what needed to be said. Her daughter held a look of pride as she gazed upon the woman who gave her life.

The rest of the table still sat in stunned silence. There had been more talk about love than they could handle. It was very much needed though. Within this hate filled world, the eight individuals at this table had found a part of it that still fostered love.  


Desirae looked at Jamie, “Do you see now? It is always the right time to talk about love.”  


Jamie smiled for the first time since she sat down, “Yeah.”

Trinity had one more question.

“Who wants dessert?”


End file.
